In This Issue The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance Great

Volume 4 Issue 3
March 2007
In This Issue
• Step back in time and enjoy these
nostalgic music specials:
- My Music: The British Beat
- My Music: Movie Songs
- The Rockabilly Legends:
They Called It Rockabilly
Long Before They Called It
Rock and Roll
- Soundies: A Musical History
Hosted by Michael Feinstein
• Coming in September: The War
• History Circle Community
Calendar
• Walking the Bible: Highlights
Special
• Check out our complete history
programming schedule for March
Tell a Friend!
Membership in the History Circle of
PBS 45 & 49 is FREE and includes
regularly issued newsletters,
advance notice of History Circle
community events, special discounts
to area attractions and more. Call
1-800-554-4549 to join or sign up
online at www.pbs4549.org.
Local funding for history
programming is provided by The
Ruth H. Beecher Charitable Trust
and Timken.
The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance
Monday, March 19 and Tuesday, March 20 at 9 pm
Repeats Saturdays, March 24 and March 31 at 3 am
The Medici: Godfathers of the
Renaissance tells the story of a dramatic and
compelling age — a critical turning point
in Western history. Witness the real human
stories behind the European Renaissance
and the family that bankrolled it.
This is a family who inspired some of the
greatest moments in the birth of the modern
world and challenged some of the greatest
thinkers and pioneers of the age.
Filmed entirely on location in Italy,
the story of the Medici is an epic drama
that weaves the descendants of one
Tuscan family with momentous cultural
and political turning points. Played out
in the courts, cathedrals and palaces of
Renaisssance Europe, this is the cradle of
modern civilization.
Their story is a bloodthirsty mix of
ambition and triumph, murder and revenge.
It also is a tale of inspiring achievement
and cultural revolution. Through the
eyes of The Medici: Godfathers of the
Renaissance, uncover the history of
the greatest achievements of the early
modern era.
Some of the great works include
the construction of the great dome of
Florence, the painting “Birth of Venus,”
Michelangelo’s sculpture “David”
and many more that may never have
happened without the Medici ... and
their friends.
Combining extraordinary dramatic
sequences with interviews and special
effects, this documentary series is a
political suspense thriller and riveting
intellectual adventure story, told through
the lives of some of history’s most
exciting characters.
Great Museums, Year of the Museum Special:
National Baseball Hall of Fame
Tuesday, March 27 at 2 pm
Since the first five men were elected to the National Baseball Hall
of Fame in 1936 -— Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy
Mathewson and Walter Johnson ­— the National Baseball Hall of Fame
and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y. has become one of the nation’s
most recognizable and popular educational institutions.
Baseball and America have grown up together, through immigration,
industrialization, integration and technology. This special explores the
richness of baseball as the American pastime and, like the game itself,
appeals to people of different ages and across all cultural heritages.
The program also examines how the American landscape — our
language, literature, movies and summertime living — all bear the
mark of a 19th-century game that continues to be identified with our
nation’s values and aspirations.
PBS 45 & 49 • P.O. Box 5191 • Kent OH 44240-5191 • Call us at 1-800-554-4549 • Visit us online at www.pbs4549.org
Musical Nostalgia
My Music: The British Beat
Saturday, March 3 at 9 pm
Repeats Monday, March 12 at 9 pm
Britain’s first lady of song, Petula Clark, hosts
this all-star reunion of some of the best of rock ‘n’
roll’s British Invasion and performs her smash hit
“Downtown.”
Beloved duo Peter and Gordon reunite for the
first time in nearly four decades to perform their
hits “World Without Love” and “I Go to Pieces.”
Other great numbers include “Wild Thing” by
the Troggs, “To Sir With Love” by Lulu and “Game
of Love” by Wayne Fontana.
My Music: Movie Songs
The Rockabilly Legends:
They Called It Rockabilly
Long Before They Called
It Rock and Roll
Sunday, March 11 at 4 pm
This chronicle of the birth of rockabilly
and rock ‘n’ roll journeys from the
Depression-era cotton fields of the south
into recording studios and then onto the
world’s stage. The compelling story is
told by the musical pioneers themselves:
Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash,
Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy
Holly, Buddy Knox, Gene Vincent, the
Johnny Burnette Trio and more.
Wayne Fontana
The 5th Dimension
Saturday, March 10 at 8 pm
Soundies: A Musical
History Hosted by
Michael Feinstein
Repeats Sunday, March 11 at 10:30 am and Sunday, March 18 at 9 pm
Since the inception of talking pictures in 1927, the magic
of movies has been set to music. A well-placed tune can often
take on a life of its own, becoming as much a character as any
of the actors. My Music: Movie Songs is a new special that
commemorates the great songs of the silver screen.
Hosted by Turner Classic Movies’ Robert Osborne, the program
features a spectrum of legendary artists — from Debbie Reynolds,
with the lilting “Tammy” from Tammy and the Bachelor, to the
Bee Gees, with their ballad “How Deep Is Your Love” from
Saturday Night Fever.
Andy Williams returns to the stage to perform his timeless
“Moon River” from the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and Bill Medley
and Jennifer Warnes reunite for the first time in decades to sing
their smash hit “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing.
Among the additional highlights are a poignant interpretation
by Yvonne Elliman of “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” from
Jesus Christ Superstar, a dynamic version of the rock classic “Born
to Be Wild” from Easy Rider by John Kay of Steppenwolf and a
rousing rendition by the Cowsills of “Hair” from the famous film
of the same name.
Sunday, March 18 at 7 pm
Lulu
Before television and MTV, there were
“soundies.” First appearing in 1941,
these three-minute black-and-white films
featured big band, jazz and swing-era
artists. Viewed for a dime through a
special machine called a panoram — a
movie jukebox — these forerunners
to the music video could be seen in
nightclubs, roadhouses, restaurants and
other public venues.
The program, hosted by four-time
Grammy nominee Michael Feinstein,
features such noted musicians as Duke
Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong,
Nat King Cole and Liberace.
Coming in September!
War
A PBS 45 & 49 War and Peace Project
T h e
A Ken Burns Film
The War, a new seven-part documentary
series directed and produced by Ken Burns
and Lynn Novick, explores the history and
horror of World War II from an American
perspective by following the fortunes of
so-called ordinary men and women who
become caught up in one of the greatest
cataclysms in human history.
Six years in the making, this epic 14-hour
film will air for two weeks in September. It
is reminiscent in scope and power of Burns’
landmark series The Civil War.
The new production focuses on the
stories of citizens from four geographically
distributed and quintessentially American
towns — Waterbury, Conn.; Mobile, Ala.;
Sacramento, Calif.; and the tiny farming town
of Luverne, Minn. These four communities
stand in for — and could represent — any
town in the United States that went through
the war’s four devastating years.
Individuals from each community take the
viewer through their own personal and often
harrowing journeys into war, painting vivid
portraits of how the war
dramatically altered their
lives and those of their
neighbors, as well as the Ken Burns
country they helped to
save for generations to come.
“The Second World War was so massive,
catastrophic and complex, it is almost
beyond the mind’s and the heart’s capacity to
process everything that happened and, more
important, what it meant on a human level,”
says Burns. “Every person in the country was
deeply affected by this war, whether in battle,
at home, at work or, in the case of JapaneseAmericans, in internment camps. By focusing
on the personal stories of ordinary Americans
who had extraordinary experiences, the film
tries to bring one of the biggest events in the
history of the world down to a very intimate
scale. And in the end, we all begin to see, I
think, that there are no ‘ordinary’ lives.”
Accompanying the series will be a book,
written by Geoffrey C. Ward and introduced
by Ken Burns, that will be published by
Alfred A. Knopf and released for nationwide
sale in mid-August. Ward and Burns
collaborated previously on the best-selling
book The Civil War.
PBS Home Video is producing a complete
DVD box set that will feature “making of”
footage and an interview with Burns and
others involved in the film. The soundtrack
will be released in September 2007 by
Sony BMG Legacy Recordings. As with all
of Burns’ films, there will be an extensive
educational outreach component and an
interactive Web site that provides more
information on the film, the battles and
related issues.
History Circle
Community
Calendar
Diana: A Celebration
Through June 10 Western
Reserve Historical Society,
10825 East Blvd., University
Circle. For more information:
Call Fidelity Tours at 1-800458-4680.
Children’s History Club: The
Western Reserve Saturday,
March 10, noon to 3 pm
Youngstown Historical
Center, 151 W. Wood St.,
Youngstown. For more
information: 1-800-262-6137.
2007 Spring Arts and Craft
Bazaar March 16, 9 am to 7
pm; March 17, 9 am to 3 pm
Salem World War Memorial
Building, 785 E. State St.,
Salem. For more information:
(330) 332-5512.
Free Screening: The Rise and
Fall of the YWCA of Summit
County Tuesday, March
27 at 6:30 pm (rescheduled
from February) AkronSummit County Main Library
Auditorium, 60 S. High St.,
Akron. For more information:
(330) 972-6846.
Black Roots: Tracing Your
Family Tree — A Day With
Tony Burroughs March
31, 9:30 am to 4 pm AkronSummit County Public
Library, 60 S. High St., Akron.
For reservations: (330) 6439030.
History Myths Tuesday, April
24, noon Canton Christian
Home, 2550 Cleveland Ave.,
NW, Canton. Free; lunch is
included. For reservations:
(330) 456-0004, ext.20.
Treasures of the Western
Reserve, Western Reserve
Historical Society Through
May 31, 2007 10825 East
Blvd., University Circle. For
more information: (216) 7215722 or www.wrhs.org.
PBS 45 & 49
1750 Campus Center Dr.
P.O. Box 5191
Kent, OH 44240-5191
1-800-554-4549
History Programming
March 2007
Conquistadors With Michael Wood
Saturdays, March 3 & March 10 at 3 am
My Music: The British Beat
Saturday, March 3 at 9 pm
Monday, March 12 at 9 pm
Walking the Bible: Highlights Special
Thursday, March 8 at 8 pm
My Music: Movie Songs
Saturday, March 10 at 8 pm
Sunday, March 11 at 10:30 am
Sunday, March 18 at 9 pm
The Rockabilly Legends: They Called It
Rockabilly Long Before They Called It Rock
and Roll
Sunday, March 11 at 4 pm
American Masters, Willa Cather: The Road Is All
Monday, March 12 at 12:30 am
Ketchup: King of Condiments
Wednesday, March 14 at 2:30 am
Soundies: A Musical History Hosted by Michael
Feinstein
Sunday, March 18 at 7 pm
The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance
Monday, March 19 & Tuesday, March 20 at 9 pm
Saturdays, March 24 & March 31 at 3 am
Ohio: 200 Years
Saturday, March 24 at 7 am
Wednesday, March 28 at 9 pm
American Experience, Golden Gate Bridge
Monday, March 26 at 9 pm
Great Museums, Year of the Museum Special:
National Baseball Hall of Fame
Tuesday, March 27 at 2 pm
African American Lives
Tuesday, March 27 at 10 pm
Walking the Bible: Highlights Special
Thursday, March 8 at 8 pm
Part adventure, part archaeological
detective work and part spiritual
exploration, Walking the Bible follows
storyteller Bruce Feiler on his inspiring
10,000-mile odyssey as he searches
for traces of the great biblical heroes.
Feiler travels by foot, four-wheel,
camel and boat to re-create the
journey he recounts in his bestseller, Walking the Bible. The
special program wanders through
10 countries on three continents,
including volatile areas of the Middle
East.
Accompanying Feiler is Avner
Goren, one of the world’s leading
biblical archaeologists. Dramatic
scripture readings are interspersed
throughout the three programs,
bringing viewers closer to these
Biblical settings.